Does having a joint checking account bring down a person’s credit score?

- WAG

Dear WAG,

Checking accounts are not part of your credit history, so do not impact credit scores.

Your credit report only includes information about your debts, and accounts are scored the same whether you are associated with the account as an individual or as a joint owner.

Information about assets such as checking account balances, savings account balances, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, stocks, bonds or other investments are not part of a report and so do not impact credit scores.

The same is true for income information. Your salary or hourly wage is not reported to Experian and so is not part of your credit report. As a result, your income does not affect your credit scores.

That doesn’t mean those financial resources are not considered in lending decisions. In fact, they may play a very important part in granting credit.

Lenders must consider your ability to repay a debt. On your application they typically ask for income information. For some types of loans, they may also ask for details about other assets you can use to repay the debt.

Your credit report and credit scores are just one part of the process. Demonstrating you have the financial resources to repay the debt and continue to make payments through an economically challenging period will play an important role in having your application approved.

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